Every now and then I stop and assess just how bonkers a year it has been. I’ve laughed every time that I’ve seen the meme doing the rounds about corporate change and who drove it. Was it your CEO, COO or COVID-19? It’s a joke, but it’s also really not. For years company decision makers have refused to adopt working from home for an array of reasons but in 2020 they’ve had no choice. Now, a huge number of office-based workers are working from home offices, bedrooms, kitchen tables and even couches. If you’re one of these people and you need a desk, there’s an Irish company which have the perfect work from home desk for you.
The Flying Elephant Work From Home Desk
Every cloud has a silver lining. There’s not doubting how horrible and tragic COVID-19 has been for everyone but it has brought with it unique changes to our lives. With this unique changes comes unique opportunities for new business. Flying Elephant pounced on that opportunity by quickly promoting their work from home desk.
The team kindly sent one over to me to check out. I was blown away by how such a nice desk to work at could be created and shipped so quickly before being assembled even quicker.
The desk comes in just four parts and there’s no tools required to assemble it. It’s all precision cut timber that simply slots together. You can get either plain wood or laminate finish, I personally love the plain wood.
Prior to this desk landing I was working at an IKEA dinner table. Specifically it’s one with folding table surfaces which means it was actually quite irritating to work at because it would squeak and rattle a lot. The Flying Elephant desk is solid as a rock and offers a generous work space too. If you’re slightly longer legged, the mid-beam might get in the way but if that’s the case, it’s worth contacting the company as they do some custom work too.
In the coming weeks and months, you can likely expect companies to start providing working from home funds if they don’t already. So whether you’re spending your own money or money your company has allotted for you to set up at home, this work from home desk by Flying Elephant is great. It’ll set you back €149 and you’ll get it next day in Dublin, within five days around the rest of Ireland or within six days in Europe.
That price is a little spicy for what some will consider a short term use desk. But for me, this desk is a more permanent solution with the big benefit being that it can be taken apart easily and stored while not in use.
If you head on over to the Flying Elephant website you can even use augmented reality to view what this work from home desk might look like in your gaff.
Viewing the Flying Elephant desk in AR
The Extended Flying Elephant Range
Coming into Christmas there’s a wide range of new products The Flying Elephant has added to their online shop. These are some cracking ideas in there too. We’ve decided a Christmas tree probably isn’t going to work in the apartment this year given there’s two of us working here but maybe Flying Elephant as the perfect solution in a reusable laser-cut timber tree.
There’s loads of other beautifully manufacturer and guaranteed Irish product on their website. Worth a look if you’re doing the Christmas shopping early.
Electric scooters are more in demand than ever before. With people looking for public transport alternatives, the electric scooter has risen to the surface as a popular solution for commuting. Unfortunately, they are not a road-legal solution but are retailers doing enough to inform consumers of this fact?
Surge In Electric Scooter Popularity
People don’t much like the idea of being stuck in a bus or LUAS with countless others. To be totally honest, this pre-dates COVID-19. I was using an electric scooter to get to the office before working from home was a thing. Every Monday I’d have a smile on my face, flying past rows of drivers who thought it was wise driving into Europe’s most congested cities.
Dublin City was crying out for a mode of transport like the electric scooter so it’s no surprise that people are turning to them in their droves. Halfords, who claim to be Ireland’s biggest e-scooter retailer, has seen a 700% surge of sales across their 24 Irish stores.
Matt Banks, Halfords e-mobility expert says that “the big rise in consumer demand for e-scooters means there should be new laws in place to regulate their use and let everyone enjoy the benefits they can bring. The safe use of e-scooters has the potential to revolutionise the way we travel and can help address pollution and congestion problems”.
Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, has confirmed that those laws are coming, with work started and the laws expected to be in place for 2021. However he also clarified that until the laws are updated, electric scooters remain illegal to use on Irish roads. But are retailers doing enough to inform consumers of this?
Caveat Emptor
I called a Dublin Halfords store to see what their approach was. When the assistant answered the phone I said “I’m looking for buy a scooter for commuting in Dublin City Centre, do you have any in stock”. The staff member who answered was really nice and friendly, informing me which items were in stock and that I could order online for store collection.
At no time during the call, however, was it highlighted to me that to commute on an electric scooter in Dublin City centre would be illegal. Now of course, Halfords aren’t legally required to inform me at all. Electric scooters are not illegal. It’s their use on public roads and bike lanes which is illegal.
I asked Halfords if they inform customers about the illegality of electric scooter on public roads and was told the retailer makes “it clear online, on pricing tickets and in shops that e-scooters are not to be ridden on public roads and only on private property”.
I went to the Halfords website. It didn’t take me long to find an electric scooter as it’s on their homepage in a section called “Top Trending Near You”. It’s the Xiaomi m365 electric scooter, the same scooter I myself own which has been locked up since the start of the year.
The Halfords website does indeed state “Please note that this scooter is not to be used on public highways, only on private property with the owner’s consent”. However it’s quite far down the page on desktop and on a mobile device it takes nearly a minute of scrolling to find. In addition, above the message is other content like “make journeys effortless” and an electric scooter buyer’s guide which fails to mention the legality issues at all.
What Other Retailers Say
Halfords is not alone here. I Googled “electric scooters Ireland” and checked what other retailers were doing.
Urban Movement, who are paying to advertise when people search for related terms, have a range of scooters but their product pages do not mention scooters are illegal on public roads. Nor is it mentioned on their “About Us” page.
To show just how much money is to be made from selling electric scooters right now, another popular result in Google is The Camera Centre in Dublin. Here there is no mention of the fact it’s illegal to use electric scooters in public spaces.
Lifty.co is another dedicated scooter retailer. Their site has inconsistent messaging. Some product pages mention that you shouldn’t ride electric scooters on public roads while others omit this. They do, however have a message at the bottom of their website on every page which states “electric scooters are not to be used on footpaths, cycle lanes or roads. It is the complete responsibility of the customer to ensure that you operate your e-scooter within all country and local laws”.
Fish In A Barrel
All of this isn’t just a grumpy tech reviewer at his laptop giving out. While I believe consumers should be doing their research, retailers should also be looking out for their customers, even if they are not required to by law.
With COVID-19, people have turned their back on public transport and have sought options like e-bikes and electric scooters.
E-bikes are perfectly legal but electric scooters are not and right now it’s like shooting fish in a barrel for the Gardai. The result for the consumer can be severe. One electric scooter rider received five penalty points on his driving license and a €300 fine. While it’s been a tough year for retailers, it’s not fair that consumers should be put at risk.
I’m obviously a massive supporter of electric scooters. They can reduce congestion and pollution in our cities and frankly I think it’s ridiculous that they’re not road legal yet. However, coming into a busy Christmas period the electric scooter is being regarded by consumers and retailers alike as the “must have” gift this year. Just check out this Google Trends data which shows steady increase over the past twelve months.
Electric scooter interest in Ireland
Hopefully, electric scooters are legalised in the near future but until then, here’s hoping retailers make more of an effort to inform consumers. To be fair, there’s no requirement on retailers to inform consumers. They’re not legally required at all but it does feel a little like shoppers are getting caught in the crossfire here.
How do I open this review? Do I go with the “saturated headphone market” approach? Maybe it’s more of a “Huawei plugging the gaps in the consumer market” because of the whole Trump and China thing? What ever way I open it, was really matters here is that Huawei has produced a pair of over-ear headphones and given the incredible accessories they’ve made to date, like the FreeBuds Pro earbuds, these deserve full attention. Here’s my review of the unusually named Huawei FreeBuds Studio.
Buds? They’re Called FreeBuds?
When these landed in for review I stopped and kind of stared at the box for a few seconds. Yes, these headphones are indeed called the FreeBuds Studio. It’s a bizarre choice considering they’re in no way buds. I can only assume that Huawei is trying to build out the entire audio arm of their accessory range to sit under FreeBuds.
Huawei FreeBuds Studio Review
I wanted to get that out of the way good and early. Yes, unusual name but now let’s get on with the meaty bit. The review.
FreeBuds Studio Design
The Huawei FreeBuds Studio sound awesome, ok? But I’ve got to start with the design of this pair of headphones. They’re gorgeous. I mean, they are genuinely striking. I’ve been testing a lot of headphones lately, including the rather impressive JBL Club One headphones. While many of these headphones have great sound, none have left me appreciating their design like the FreeBuds Studio.
The FreeBuds Studio look and feel great, including a protein-based faux-leather.
Weight
As soon as I took them out of the box, I loved how light this new pair of over-ears felt. At just 260g, you immediately know you could wear these headphones for hours without them weighing your head down. While that’s a little heavier than my beloved Bose QC35 II headphones it’s a world apart from the heavier JBL Club One.
Protein Leather
While the weight is important, comfort in headphones is dictated by many factors. Keeping with Huawei’s shift towards sustainable leather alternatives, the FreeBuds Studio headphones use protein leather on the ear cups and headband. Both are generously padded meaning, combined with the headphones weight, these are incredibly comfy.
The cups are connected to the headband with premium feeling stainless steel. The result is not just comfort but secure headphones which don’t move around too much. This also adds to the noise cancelling experience, but more on that later.
Buttons
Some of the controls are fairly obvious. On the left headphone you get the Active Noise Cancelling control button (ANC). On the right you’ll find power, Bluetooth and the USB-C port. What’s less obvious is that the right headphone also has a touch interface. Usually I hate these with a passion but the FreeBuds Studio gesture controls aren’t that bad. This is down to the ensure headphone surface being the control area.
Swipe Up – Volume Up
Swipe Down – Volume Down
Swipe Left – Previous Track
Swipe Right – Next Track
Double Tap – Play/Pause
Press and Hold – Launch Smart Assistant
All of these, including rather surprisingly the smart assistant, work really well. Touch accuracy is high, so maybe, just maybe, gesture controls could win me back over.
There is one thing I’ll call out here which will be a deal-breaker for some and a mere footnote for others. There’s no wired connection option. On the headphones there’s not 3.5mm connection and no additional connectors in the box. This is a wireless only job.
Colours
The last thing to touch on is the colours you can pick up the FreeBuds Studio. The shell of the headphones isn’t massively premium. However that’s made up for with the gorgeous soft protein leather, stainless steel band and lovely colours. You can pick up the FreeBuds Studio in Black and Rose Gold.
The Gold FreeBuds Studio are gorgeous even though it’s not a colour I thought I’d have liked myself.
Right, so design-wise these are nearly faultless. I don’t think I’m too surprised by that given Huawei has always had a massive focus on aesthetics and that premium vibe. But for all the looks in the world, can Huawei product a genuinely great pair of headphones to compete with the very best?
FreeBuds Studio Sound Quality
When I first trialed the FreeBuds Studio I thought they were quiet. My mistake was not reading the manual and realising I could increase the volume using gesture controls on the headphones themselves. So watch out for that.
Once I worked out how to use technology, embarrassing as that was for me, I was blown away by the level of sound quality the FreeBuds Studio delivered. Now, I won’t lie. They’re not mind blowing but I think that’s down to the fact I test so many headphones. They are, however, as good, if not better than, some of my favourite headphones across a range of sound specs.
Output
The overall sound experience is crisp and generally brilliant. The built in drivers provide a surprisingly sharp sound across treble, mids and bass with little bleed. I’ve been testing some podcasts, jazz and metal, Slipknot as the latter with the headphones delivering in every single category.
Active Noise Cancelling
Huawei has been toying with ANC over the past few years. The FreeBuds 3 were a little lack lustre on this particular spec but the ambition was not to be sniffed at. The FreeBuds Pro nailed it and left me a bit shook at how good ANC could be in a fair of buds, let alone a pair of buds by a company not traditionally considered to be an audio specialist.
It seems rather fitting that the FreeBuds Studio pull together several elements to make a truly remarkable pair of ANC headphones. I’ve mentioned in a few reviews that my new standardised test no longer requires flying. Instead, my trusty fan extractor in the kitchen is the test. To my utter shock, the FreeBuds Studio takes it to the Bose QC35 II headphones for noise cancelling.
Now, hearing being such a subjective thing is an important note to make. I’ve always considered the Bose to be the best ANC headphones on the market while others say the same of the Sony WH-1000XM4 headphones. I guess what I’m really saying is that there may be small gaps between the top-of-the-range ANC headphones but the FreeBuds Studio are sitting amongst the very top level headphones on the market.
Making Calls
Wireless headphones over the years have come on leaps and bounds when it comes to making and taking calls. The Huawei FreeBuds 3 packed in so much technology to ensure call clarity that I now actually consider this to be a crucial part of good headphones.
Sure enough, the FreeBuds Studio maintain expectations for call quality in quiet scenarios. The quality does take a drop when calling in noisy, or particularly windy scenarios. This was a particular strength of the Huawei FreeBuds range until now but the over-ear form factor does mean new and unique design challenges for Huawei.
Other FreeBuds Studio Notes
Right, so that’s the bulk of this headphone review done and dusted but there are some other thing worth noting.
Multi-device Connections
One feature I adore is multi-device connections. This is great when working from home and despite everything what Huawei has been going through, this remains completely operating system agnostic.
This feature means you can connect your headphones to your Windows laptop and iPhone. While working away on your laptop, you can listen to Spotify but as soon as you get a call your headphones will cleverly switch to the phone.
Smart Assistant Support
Huawei has begun rolling out and testing its own smart assistant called Celia. It’s very early stage and unfortunately resembles the ability of Samsung’s Bixby at the moment. This means that, for me at least, there are really still only two smart assistants battling it out for my favour:
Google Assistant
Amazon Alexa
The cool thing here is that the Huawei FreeBuds Studio can still activate and control this assistants. All you have to do is long press the right headphone.
Battery Life
This element of the test is on-going but I’m happy enough to give you an early opinion. Particularly considering the lightweight nature of these headphones, the battery life is remarkable. I’ve been using them for ages already and the battery is depleting really slowly.
Huawei advertise that the FreeBuds Studio are expected to deliver 20 hours of ANC listening or 24 hours with ANC disabled. The key call out being there’s very few flights you’d be caught short of battery life with these. Even if you did get a chance to charge for just ten minutes, you’d buy yourself another 8 hours with a full charge being achieved in 60 minutes.
Huawei FreeBuds Studio: The Verdict
I’m very conscious that Huawei sends me a lot of gear to review and that it’s nearly always a positive conclusion I reach. I’m actually on the look out for negatives more than ever to try and strike some balance here. Unfortunately, the FreeBuds Studio aren’t helping.
The Huawei FreeBuds Studio are great regardless of being Huawei’s first attempt at mass-producing ANC over-ear headphones.
These headphones are almost perfect and frankly, for a brand traditionally associated with smartphones and modems, Huawei’s seamless transition into the audio space will surely frighten the likes of Bose, Sennheiser and Sony.
The FreeBuds Studio are comfortable, easy to use and all while delivering a fantastic audio experience. There is absolutely no reason why these shouldn’t be considered at the very top of the list when it comes to ANC over-ear headphones. At €299, Huawei might very well be able to sneak in and land grab some share of the headphone market this Christmas.
The FreeBuds Studio will be available in selection Vodafone stores around Ireland from November 6th.
Update: Amazon will open a second distribution centre this year and a fully operational fulfilment centre in Spring 2022. Read more.
The shopping experience on Amazon.co.uk for people in Ireland has been mixed over the years. To be fair to Amazon, they’ve always been incredible from a customer care point of view even if their treatment of staff globally has been at least questionable. For shoppers, in the back of your mind is always that you’re shopping with a UK website which sits funny both from a local economy and returns point of view. But I’ve noticed something in the past few days. Amazon has started to ship from a Dublin distribution centre.
Shopping On Amazon In Ireland Over The Years
Shopping on Amazon.co.uk isn’t a new concept for people living in Ireland. I’ve pulled together the ultimate Amazon.co.uk shopping guide to help people save money with Revolut and avoid extra fees by using virtual UK shipping address. I’ve had a few times where something went wrong with an order but Amazon customer care has always gone above and beyond to resolve issues with minimal impact to me.
It’s a mad old time to be talking about Amazon opening their distribution centre in Dublin. Right now, there’s a massive drive for people to shop locally due to the whole COVID-19 thing. Personally, I’ve never shopping locally so much in my life. From food to general bits and pieces, I’m trying to keep money in the local economy. But I have to admit, sometimes I find it hard.
The high street struggles to offer the sheer range of products that Amazon offers. A few weeks back, I heard someone say “dig down into the Google search results to find Irish companies selling what you’re looking for” but it is more than that. Amazon offers incomparable selection and great value. Sure, they’re a somewhat big faceless corporate entity but at the same time there’ll come a day where it’s the only place that has what you need at an affordable price.
While I shop locally as much as possible, recently I did need something that I could only find at a reasonable price on Amazon.co.uk. When the order was being delivered I knew something major had changed.
Amazon Now Ships Some Orders From Dublin
Earlier this month, Amazon opened a logistics delivery station in Dublin and Amazon has confirmed to me that this “is not a trial”.
Amazon opening this centre has created twenty permanent jobs in Dublin and utilises local delivery companies to get you your orders. Right now, this setup is delivering to Dublin and the surrounding area.
Sarah-Jane Heffernan, Delivery Station Manager, said “we are delighted to have opened our first delivery station in Dublin where Amazon’s 20+ years of operational expertise, technology advancements and investment in transportation infrastructure is enabling faster delivery for customers than ever before seven days a week. The site in Rathcoole is a great location and we are excited to be delivering to our customers in Dublin and the surrounding area”.
What This Means For Irish Shoppers
The immediate impact for Irish shoppers is hopefully a better delivery experience. I first experienced Amazon’s own delivery service while in Germany and it looks like a similar system has been adopted for Ireland. Some benefits of having an Irish distribution centre is increased range or products (including items with batteries) which can be delivered faster than ever.
A Zeus Logistics Amazon delivery van spotted in the wild
Last week, I had an item delivered at 9.30am on a Sunday, so that’s something you might have to get used to too. The driver called me and said he was an “Amazon delivery driver” not An Post or DPD as I’m used to.
It was another order that gave the game away for me this week. I received a notification that my order would be delivered later in the day. When I opened the notification I was able to track my order stop by stop. One of the most frustrating things about shopping online these days is being given a two day delivery window so you need to work your whole day around being home to sign for your order.
With this Amazon system, you can see if your order is about to land or if it’s eight stops away.
When my order landed it was hilariously wrong but Amazon’s typically brilliant customer care kicked in and resolved everything in just a few moments over webchat.
Amazon’s own delivery service doesn’t replace existing partners like An Post and DPD. Instead Amazon says it adds additional capacity to meet growing demand and will continue to work alongside existing partners.
Impact Of Amazon In Ireland
So, the full story here is Amazon has finally started to focus properly on Ireland. This may come as a direct result of Brexit or COVID-19 but the big challenge for Irish business is going to be the world’s biggest e-commerce company entering the market to poach customers.
As I said, we should all be trying more than ever to support Irish businesses but Irish businesses need to adapt much more quickly to meet the needs of the modern consumer. I do beg you to try and spend locally when you can but also don’t feel bad if you turn to Amazon.co.uk to pick up something either.
Update: This article was updated to include that Amazon’s own delivery service will add support to existing partners like An Post and DPD, not replace it.
Earlier this year I wrote about working from home and keeping your work spaces separate to your rest spaces. I live in a one bed apartment so that’s a real challenge for me. What I’ve tried to do is make different workspaces where I can. I’ve got a desk from Flying Elephant which is my primary work space. I’ve also picked up a foldable standing desk so I can move into the bedroom too. This article is about the Nerdy Tec Couchmaster Cybot lapdesk and how it lets me work from the couch.
What Is A Lapdesk?
Lapdesks or lapboards usually have a flat surface with a cushion stuck underneath. The idea is that the cushion sits comfortably on your lap while the board on top acts as a table for you. I’ve had some variation of a lapboard in my apartment for as long as I’ve lived here. They’re great for laptops or just eating while watching the telly.
Who Is NerdyTec?
NerdyTec is a German company with a real gaming vibe. While they seemed to set out to specialise in gaming accessories, they’ve cleverly spotted the market for people now working from home and have shifted focus towards a more general lapdesk in the Couchmaster. They sent over the Couchmaster Cybot for me to test drive and I’m going to have to say it’s an option I love having.
What Is The Couchmaster Cybot?
The Couchmaster Cybot lapdesk consists of three simple parts. There are two memory foam cushions which sit either side of your thighs and then the lapboard which sits across both side cushions. There’s really nothing high tech about this who set up, but there is some clever design included.
The lapboard has cut out slots to the left to let your laptop breath. On the right, another cutout slot lets you hold a tablet or phone. The model I was sent also had a nice big mousemat which I could stick on. The board is comfortable to use thanks to it’s layout and tapered, leather surfaced edges where your arms rest.
The cushions themselves are really comfy thanks to their (I think faux) leather covering and memory foam inners. One side has some extra pockets to hold some accessories, or for gamers, snacks.
What’s The Couchmaster Cybot Like To Use?
I loved using the Couchmaster and can I pause for a second to appreciate how awesome that name is. Anything called the Couchmaster was going to win me over.
I’ve used the lapdesk for many hours across a range of tasks. From work, to gaming to writing. Personally, I can’t fault it and that’s largely down to its simplicity.
However, there is one fairly sizeable fault that my better half pointed out to me. She’s left-handed and this isn’t a very left-hand friendly product.
If you flip the board over, the cut outs and tapers don’t deliver the same great experience. Because the concept is quite simple, being a board sitting on cushions, it will of course work for left-handed users but it really is designed for right handed people.
Couchmaster Cybot: The Verdict
Having a lapdesk these days is a bit of a must have. If you’re having one of those days where you’re planning on not quite going “flat out” while working from home, it offers a different way of working to sitting or standing at a desk. It’s ok to admit you have those days by the way, even if your boss disagrees.
I’m not best happy about this scenario that Apple puts you in as a consumer. They should be providing the minimum bits and bobs in the box for your day to day running of your phone. But Apple has decided to remove charging bricks from all new iPhones sold. They claims this is for the environment but I have my suspicions that there’s more financial factors driving this as a business decision. For now, there’s little to be done except accept that buying a new iPhone probably means you need to buy a new charging brick, so which one is best for you to buy?
What To Look For In A Charger
Not all chargers are created equal. If there was to be any positive about this whole mess that Apple created is that some light has been shone on chargers in general.
What Watt?
Typically, Apple shipped a simply awful 5W charger with most phones, like the iPhone 11. This thing took forever to charger your iPhone. Take Huawei for example. It’s completely standard for them to ship phones with a 40W fast charger in the box. This could get the likes of a P40 Pro charged from 0% to 80% in about 30 minutes.
The iPhone 11 supports 18W fast charge and the new iPhone 12 series supports 20W fast charge so you may as well pick up a charger to get the best charging experience.
USB-C Port
Apple has kind of made a stab at the universal charging standard of USB-C. Unlike most manufacturers who’ve adopted the USB-C port to their phone, Apple has just half adopted USB-C on their Lightening cable. This means, if you buy an iPhone 12 you’ll need to make sure you have either an old Lightening charger or a USB-C charging brick for your new cable.
The CE Mark
It’s all well and good saying it’s great to charger your phone faster and everything, but it’s essential you can do that safely too. The CE mark is a symbol which tells you the product you’re buying has met European Union production requirements. Basically, it means there’s a far greater chance that you’ll not encounter any safety issues with the product.
The CE marking on the Anker PowerPort III
This is remarkably important when it comes to phone chargers as they cause countless deadly fires. The biggest culprit is mass produced counterfeit chargers which have not been through sufficient testing. Beware, some chargers bought cheap will bare fake CE marks too. The best thing to do is not only keep an eye out for the CE mark but to buy your charger from a reputable source too.
Buying Your New iPhone Charger
So without further ado, here’s where to buy your new iPhone charger and the best one to pick up.
Official Apple Charger: Apple Website
As much as it kills me to recommend you doing what Apple want you to do, it’s not a bad option.
Apple 20W USB-C Charger
This is the charging brick that Apple simply should have shipped with all new iPhones but opted not to. This will set you back €25 and you can simply add it to your order when buying your iPhone 12 online.
The big benefit here is that you’re buying from a reputable source and you’re buying the charger designed for your new phone, right down to the 20W charging spec. You can also reduce the carbon footprint of your charger by getting it shipped with your phone. It’s not guaranteed to ship with your phone but hopefully it does.
Apple’s 20W USB-C charging brick will also work for iPad Pro and iPad Air along with iPhone 8 and up, all of which support fast charging. It’s worth noting that this purchase doesn’t include a cable with Apple assuming the one shipping with the phone is enough.
Anker PowerPort III: Amazon.co.uk
I’ve been a big fan of Anker for a few years now. The Chinese tech brand promises quality at a great price. A few years back they delayed the launch of a new product because they simply weren’t happy with a safety feature. A competitor beat them to market but it taught me a lot about what the company values.
Anker introduced me to the concept of e-waste at an event in New York a few years back along with their mission to produce the single charger anyone could need. It might sound hypocritical that I support their mission while berating Apple but it’s two very different things.
As luck would have it, Anker sent me a new charger to test out a few weeks back and but I only managed to get my hands on it a few days ago. The Anker PowerPort III is truly aiming to be the only charger you could possibly ever need. With a 60W output, two USB-C ports and IQ3 Power Delivery this charger is designed to power up two devices simultaneously.
Anker PowerP
The PowerPort III means I can charger my MacBook and iPad simultaneously from a single plug. Power Delivery means the charger is able to send the right amount of power to the right device at the right time. For example, I can charge my MacBook from one port at 60W while charging my iPad at 30W. The amazing thing is that the PowerPort III can actually charge two laptops requiring 60W each at the same time. Mighty stuff.
Anker can be a bit tough to find in Ireland but you can pick the PowerPort III up on Amazon.co.uk for €45. A bit pricier but remember, you’re getting two charge ports. This replaces my horrible MacBook charger and provides another port for various other devices. If you’re not feeling that one, Anker also created the PowerPort III Nano which will set you back less than €20. This smaller charger doesn’t come with a cable and is capped at 20W worth of output but it makes for a great alternative to what Apple is offering.
Anker PowerPort III Nano
There are loads of other chargers on the market I’d like to recommend but many of them are 18W chargers. Apple’s move to the 20W standard “for the environment” has actually led to some chargers from just last year looking a lot less appealing, while not quite redundant.
OnBuy is an online marketplace kinda like Amazon but not at the same time. They are the fastest-growing marketplace in the world, OnBuy doesn’t hold or sell its own stock, but instead focuses on helping sellers grow their businesses through promoting their products. I guess in a time where small business a platform like this is going to be a big help and OnBuy are planning a worldwide scale-up into over 140 countries by 2023, starting with 40 initial sites by year-end 2020 (Ireland set to launch in the next couple of weeks), which would make OnBuy the world’s first truly global marketplace.
Unique Proposition
OnBuy’s unique positioning allows it to offer sellers and buyers an improved marketplace experience: with competitive selling fees and the security that OnBuy will never compete against them, sellers can offer buyers better choice and better prices on a huge variety of products. OnBuy connects buyers with sellers in a safe and secure manner – plus, by never competing with its own sellers, sets a precedent for combining best value for shoppers with the opportunity for sellers to maximise opportunity and profit.
What these guys have done is partner with an array of industry-leading companies, and thanks to a PayPal partnership, both parties can enjoy a secure experience and PayPal Buyer/Seller Protection. So I went for a nose and it reminds me a lot of Amazon or Ebay. Find a product you like, literally anything and within the product you can check different sellers, so again find one you like or a company you trust and off you go. Look like any of these sites there are some nonsense bits and pieces, like Airpods for €2 you know yourself but there are plenty of reputable brands and products to search for. Oh and local currency payment is enabled as standard so even if you do find a product you like you won’t have the panic that Martin found with her recent Asos order.
Honest to jebus. If you're paying in € on ASOS you're, pun intended, having your pants pulled down. This is my quoted euro price in the ASOS app versus my converted Euro to Sterling price via @RevolutApppic.twitter.com/aOT7J0rtYJ
Unlike other online business, which have to build up product ranges from scratch in each new country they launch into, OnBuy’s immense product offering can be implemented almost instantly and as a result they recently announced 24,000% growth in just 4 years, with a reported 600% revenue growth year-on-year for the second year running.
“OnBuy is the marketplace of the present and of the future. Our move into global territories starting in November and continuing over the next 18 months is seen as the delivery of our global marketplace solution – a move that will establish OnBuy as a first-of-its-kind global player. We’ve worked very hard to create the world’s first global marketplace. Having rapidly overtaken our closest competitors, proving conclusively that the appetite exists worldwide for a transparent and ethical marketplace, we will welcome the planet to a better, fairer and more ethical eCommerce ecosystem, and support retailers all over the world in selling through the world’s first true global marketplace.”
Cas Paton, OnBuy’s founder and CEO
Targeting territories that other marketplaces have been unable to reach is a conscious focal point of the this global strategy. OnBuy’s differentiated model of low, competitive seller fees, and promising never to hold stock to compete with its merchants, has proven a resounding success. Essentially the idea is to support businesses of all sizes and in the UK they have supported many small business’ to make things more accessible and more visible. Whether it’s going to work or not honestly I don’t know but anything or anywhere a local Irish business can sell their products to an international audience is well worth a try in my book.
You might not think it, but I’m actually quite a fan of Apple. I’m typing this on my MacBook. I use Apple Sidecar to make my iPad a second screen so I can research and write at the same time. Apple products can be brilliant, but they can also be their fair share of crap. For example, nothing bores me more than iPhone. When your main selling point is “it just works”, in my eyes you’ve set the bar a bit low. In recent times, Apple has pushed boundaries in design and I agreed when they removed the headphone jack. Now, however, they’ve pushed their luck and left many wondering what motivates the big decisions at Apple. Why did they remove the charger from new iPhones?
The Emperor’s New Clothes
I first want to clarify why I mentioned the Emperor’s New Clothes. It’s a fairytale I often reference when talking about brands. In this story, two scam artists come to a city where the emperor loves spending excessively on clothes. The scammers offer to tailor some clothes for the emperor which are invisible to those who are stupid or incompetent. They get the gig. The emperor sees them “working” but can’t see the thread, but he plays along because he doesn’t want to be considered a fool. Eventually, the scammers tell the emperor that his new clothes are ready and he prepares to walk through the city to celebrate his new threads.
The people of the city see the butt naked emperor walking through the city but noone points out that he’s in the nip. Why? Well, they don’t want to be considered stupid now, do they? That was until a child shouts out that the emperor is indeed naked. The people of the city realise everyone has been fooled.
Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the story of Apple.
Apple Doesn’t Have To Be God
I read a remarkable line in the build up to the iPhone 12 launch. Plenty had leaked and a Twitter user remarked, love it or hate it, whatever is revealed at the launch, they looked forward to what would influence phone design for the next 12+ months.
This is wrong. Apple doesn’t get a free pass to influence the destination of phone design and the entire industry. In fact, to let them do so would be very dangerous. Like I said, a few years back when Apple removed the headphone jack I thought they were going too far. However, after thinking about it, it made a lot of sense. I was on-board because Bluetooth technology was in a good place. Apple still provided Lightning EarPods for those who didn’t want to go wireless.
At the iPhone 12 launch, Apple did something far more extreme. They removed wired EarPods and charging bricks from all new iPhones being shipped. Apple states that this is all an effort to reduce its contribution to global e-waste. It says a lot that accessory manufacturers agree but environmentalists remain sceptical.
People Still Need Chargers
People who buy new iPhones still need chargers. That need isn’t going to go away. Sure, Apple will still supply a charging cable in the box but this actually adds a layer of ridiculous to the scenario. The cable Apple now provides in-box is a USB-C to Lightening cable. This new cable renders all old charging bricks redundant. For example, if you bought an iPhone 11 last year, it came with a USB-A to Lightening cable and USB-A brick. All of this gave you a fairly brutal 5W charging experience, but at least you had everything you needed in that one box.
Now, if you upgrade to the iPhone 12, you can still use that 5W charger. Speaking to Wired.com, Sara Behdad, a sustainability researcher at the University of Florida, outlines how “Apple’s analysis is based on this impression that some users really don’t need chargers and EarPods, because they already have them”. The truth is that some users do not.
If this is your first iPhone, you’ll need to make sure you have a USB-C charging brick. While the upside to this is that you’ll get 20W charging and 60% power in thirty minutes. The downside is that you’ll need to buy a seperate accessory. If you buy this from Apple it’s pretty expensive and it may ship separately. That’s not great for the environment now is it.
Apple Still Refuses To Adopt USB-C
I believe nearly every new phone to hit the market these days has a USB-C charge port on it. It may ship with a USB-A or USB-C power brick and accompanying cable, but it ships with it nonetheless. Apple refuses to play ball here despite manufacturers seemingly agreeing to standardise charging with USB-C. Even Apple has adopted USB-C for iPad Pro and MacBook, but iPhone and some iPads remain with Lightening ports.
Apple has adopted the USB-C to Lightening cable as a standard for the first time with the iPhone 12 series. This means the company has never provided users with USB-C charging bricks included. Apple has flooded the market with USB-A bricks over the past few years and now, in one swift action, as rendered them all practically useless and at least a lot less attractive to use as a primary charger.
What Is Apple Removing Chargers?
Apple is telling me and you this is about the environment. I’m calling bullshit on this. Apple has stopped supplying chargers to
generate a headline around sustainability
create opportunity to meet sustainability promises however conceited they may be
save money
generate revenue through additional sales
The frustration here comes from how this whole story is packaged more than anything else. I can see the longterm benefits of us all moving to USB-C charging, but Apple doing it all this time around is just a PR play which will generate plenty of revenue.
iPhone Chargers: Danger Ahead
With all of this, what are the immediate impacts? When, consumers are going to be hit in the pocket and I believe the environmental benefits of all of this to be massively blown out of proportion. On Christmas morning, I know for a fact there’s going to be parents unable to charge new iPhone which will lead to arguments. But far more pressing is the fact that people will likely buy the cheapest charger they can find to support USB-C cables from their local phone repair shop or online. These may not even bear a CE mark and post a very real risk to fire safety.
The unfortunate truth is that Apple won’t change their approach now. This is it. The real risk is whether other manufacturers like Samsung, despite over the years mocking Apple for their decisions, will follow suit after mocking. For me, it’s back to the emperor’s new clothes. It’s up to consumers like me and you to ensure companies like Apple know when they’ve gone full notions. Apple doesn’t get a free pass to make wild decisions painted as “in the interest of the planet” unless they can really back it up. If you think Apple is walking around in the nip right now, make sure you’re talking about it.
Time will tell if these trends become commonplace but if you are in the market for a new charger please buy official Apple accessories or from reputable manufacturers like Anker.
Last week I spotted a tweet from UK tech reviewer Tomi Adebayo, AKA Gadgets Boy. He had just been contacted by Amazon support to be informed that he has had personal data leaked by an Amazon employee.
I share this guy’s concern. It’s not ok for Amazon to have a data leak like this and just call it case closed. These are two separate cases so naturally, I turned to Google. Turns out I missed this story before because this is not technically news at all.
Amazon Has Regular Data Leaks
Back in January of this year, Silicon Republic reported that Amazon was firing staff for the leaking of customer personal data to third parties. The situation would appear to that like the two cases I opened with and several other reports online over the past twelve or more months.
Customers are contacted and told that Amazon is “writing to let you know that your e-mail address was disclosed by an Amazon employee to a third-party in violation of our policies. As a result, we have fired the employee, referred them to law enforcement, and are supporting law enforcement criminal prosecution”.
DPC Response To Amazon Leaks
I reached out to the Data Protection Commission of Ireland to ask what this means for Irish consumers. The DPC said, “Amazon’s main establishment in the EU is in Luxembourg and under the one stop shop mechanism in the GDPR they are regulated by the Luxembourg data protection authority, the CNPD. The DPC does not receive breach notifications from Amazon”. Under the advice of the DPC I’ve reached out to the CNPD to ask how they are reacting to this news and if any action is being taken against Amazon for what seems to be a long running data protection issue.
Amazon Response To Leaks
In addition to the regulators, I’ve reached out to Amazon themselves to clarification on the situation. A spokesperson stated that “the individuals responsible for this incident have been fired. We have referred the bad actors to law enforcement and are supporting their criminal prosecution”. Amazon is notifying customers that their names and email addresses have been shared with third parties. This has occurred despite the systems Amazon has put in place to limit access. The response from Amazon did also state that the relevant regulatory agencies, which I’m assuming is the CNPD. I’ll be confirming this shortly.
Amazon also confirmed that no other customer information was disclosed, suggesting credit card and delivery information, along with passwords, have not been compromised.
What Does This Mean For You?
If you’ve received a similar communication from Amazon, the most important thing is to keep an eye out for phishing emails. Your data has been leaked and now someone has your email and knows you’re an Amazon customer. You could be targeted with emails trying to get you to update a password or payments details in an attempt to scam you. Most likely, nothing bad has happened yet but you must remain vigilant.
It’s all a bit odd, isn’t it? The data breaches seem to be a fact of life for Amazon. It’s extremely unusual. I’ll be updating this article once I hear back from the CNPD. If you’re interested in some other GDPR news, check out the latest on my attempt to leave the Catholic church using GDPR.
When you get to review as many things as I do you have to challenge a lot of your own perceptions. Getting around brands is one of the toughest things. Big brand names can product terrible products while smaller brands can produce some incredible pieces of kit. There was a time when Huawei was a little-known phone manufacturer, in Europe at least, but today they’re a household name with the best smartphone cameras on the market. When the JBL Club One headphones landed on my desk, I didn’t expect much. In fact, I pushed the box to one side for a few days because the JBL brand didn’t excite me. When I opened the box, I learned the error of my ways.
Who Is JBL?
It’s my first time writing about JBL so let me take a moment to give you a quick history. I used to think JBL was just a logo slapped onto accessories but the company has a rich history. JBL is an American audio equipment company founded in 1946 and today is a sub-brand of Harman International. Samsung users will recognise that name as the brand which features on a lot of Samsung audio technology. JBL, to a certain extent, is a value brand. You generally don’t pay a huge amount of money for their headphones or speakers but you do get a very good experience in return. JBL sent me the Club One wireless headphones to test out and it’s an interesting start point when reviewing JBL products. It’s interesting because these are not aimed at value users. At €330, these are not aimed at value-seeking customers but hardcore audiophiles. Let’s take a look at them.
The JBL Club One
The JBL Club One are over-ear studio-grade headphones. This means in testing these I’m putting them up against the very best in the business. For me, that’s my long-standing favourites, the Bose QC35 II, the Sony WH-1000XM3 (and yet to be tested WH-1000XM4) and even the lacklustre Sennheiser Momentum 3 headphones. The last one here is interesting because they are similarly priced setting the Club One up with a tough challenge to impress. Because we’re talking studio here too, I’ll include the Audio-Technica ATH-M50xBT
Sound Quality
The general one-liner I would give here is that they’re impressive but let’s dig into it a bit. What you expect from “pro-grade” headphones is crisp clarity and true mids and bass. For me, and it’s important to remember sound is subjective, the Club One headphone nails this balance. From live playback when recording to enjoying a podcast or some tunes on the go, these headphones deliver. You’d be forgiven for having the fear of god struck into you by the mention of DJ around a pair of headphones. I thought these headphones were going to crush my head with bass, but that simply wasn’t the case. Even the bass seems somewhat sharp if that makes sense. It’s not that horrid false bass headphones can often lean on to deliver what consumers think they want and apologies for what is one of the most arrogant sounding lines I’ve ever written.
Recording an interview with the JBL Club One as monitors
The reason this is important is because the Club One headphones have a target audience of DJs but the truth is these are universally pleasing on the ears no matter what you’re listening to. JBL add a tagline to the Club One page on their website which states “inspired by pro musicians” which is something I would believe given the rounded sound you get to experience.
One thing that did surprise me here and which does have a real impact on audio fidelity is the supported codecs. For the price, it’s a big surprise that aptX, aptX HD and LDAC don’t feature. Again, for the average consumer, this isn’t a deal-breaker, but for some audiophiles, JBL just lost a sale.
Battery Life
The Club One headphones are heavy enough so I was left with an expectation of charging these maybe three times in my lifetime. While that there was a little joke, the battery in this headphones is beast. The battery is actually so good that it’s really hard to get a grip on the length of life you get. JBL advertise 45 hours of playback with ANC turned off and that drops to 23 hours. I’ve fallen asleep with these headphones on several times between chargings. The battery gives me the impression of never dying. While I’m sure JBL hasn’t created the perpetual energy cycle here, it signals to me that the Club One headphones have one of the best batteries on the market. Good news if, somehow, you still do lots of long-haul flying.
Speaking of which, what about that ANC?
Noise Cancelling
With a lack of travelling still the way of life, I’ve once again had to turn to my trusty kitchen extractor fan to test out the JBL Club One Active Noise Cancelling. Through a combination of generous cup padding, tight fit and ANC technology, JBL has made a very honest fist of great noise cancelling. I have to admit though, they do not match the likes of my trusty Bose QC35 II which means I can’t say “if you’re after noise cancelling buy the JBL Club One”. They’re just not best-in-class but they are very good. Their failing comes from an imperfect seal as a result of quite a small gap within the cup itself.
Similar to sound quality, the JBL headphones do well in noise cancelling but they’re not the best at it. Still waiting to see how we can justify that price tag.
Call Quality
Here’s one of the genuinely surprising strengths of the Club One headphones. Call quality. In this new “working from home” world many of us find ourselves in, a good pair of headphones for calls is crucial. For me the reasoning is twofold. I like taking calls at my desk but also while out and about. I sometimes go for walks while having calls and having the right earphones or headphones makes this possible. I used to use the Huawei Freebuds 3 religiously before upgrading to the Freebuds Pro. Buds just seem to handle calls better which is why I didn’t have much faith in the Club One’s ability.
I was wrong. I’ve had loads of calls on these JBL headphones and they are exceptionally clear with the person I’m calling. The big test is that I’m usually calling my Mam and if call quality drops in the slightest, you better believe she’s quick to let me know.
Build Quality And Design
Boy oh boy, this is one incredibly well build pair of headphones. While not too exciting in colour, the premium materials on show give you the first impression you’ve spent well here. While the cup size is a little too small for even medium-sized ears, the cups themselves are really comfy. The headband offers generous cushioning and leather finish. Hours of wearing and you’ll not be in a rush to take them off. Elsewhere strong metal connects pieces of the headphones together and giving the overall feel a strong build vibe.
Aside from the great build quality, there’s also some clever features included too. Instead of the often tricky gesture controls, the JBL opted for physical buttons. Lots of physical buttons. On the left headphone you have power, Bluetooth and ANC controls. On the right you get volume up, play/pause, and volume down. The left side of the headphones, where the JBL logo is, is also a button for triggering the assistant of your choice whether it be Amazon’s Alexa or Google Assistant.
The headphones are charged by a USB-C port on the right headphone but both sides actually have a place for you to plug in your AUX-in cable. The good side of this is the fact that you can have your cable on the left or right should you prefer wired. As someone who uses headphones like this in a studio-like setting, this is a nifty feature but admittedly one most won’t need. It’s nice too because you can plug and twist the cable meaning it’s nice and secure.
The downside of this setup is that JBL opted for the smaller than 3.5mm port. This is a pet hate of mine and one quite a few headphone companies opt for. If you lose your cable you’re going to have to buy a specific cable as the regular 3.5mm to 3.5mm cable won’t work.
JBL Club One: The Verdict
The big question for me here is whether or not JBL has justified a hefty price-tag for the Club One headphones. I get the feeling these cans were really JBL trying to shake the “value product” moniker. They’ve achieved that but in doing so have landed into a very competitive space. If you want the best noise-cancelling, it’s probably not these. If you want the best general sound, it might be these. If you want a good pair of headphones which probably ticks more “great feature” boxes than most, as in a really rounded pair of headphones, I think it might very well be these. The price-tag is hefty and there’s no denying that. For me, what I’m surprised by is that price-tag is unlikely to be accompanied by any buyers remorse and in the headphone market that’s ultimately your goal in navigating the audio minefield.
